On February 24, 2022, Russian troops invaded Ukraine. Instead of quickly conquering the neighboring country, they encountered bitter resistance. This bloody war has been going on for four years now – and there is no end in sight.
02/24/2026, 04:5602/24/2026, 04:56
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine began in 2014 when Russia occupied Crimea in violation of international law and supported separatists in eastern Ukraine. But it was not until the full-scale invasion by Russian troops on February 24, 2022 that the regional war became an international war of aggression – now the bloodiest conflict in Europe since the Second World War.
In the photo series we look back on these four years, in which Putin’s special operation became a brutal trench warfare and the drone war destroyed conventional military certainties.
Ukraine shows drone attack on Russian fighter jets
Video: Watson